Journal profile · Medicine, Legal
JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS
ISSN 1073-1105 · eISSN 1748-720X · SAGE Publications Inc. · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1993
JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS: CAS Zone 4 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.31; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; review 6–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 149 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS is published by SAGE Publications Inc. and is in Zone 4 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ethics in Clinical Research, Ethics in medical practice and Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues, together about 26.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (JLME) is a leading peer-reviewed journal for research at the intersection of law, health policy, ethics, and medicine. Read by more than 4,500 health care professionals, JLME is the authoritative source for health law teachers, practitioners, policy makers, risk managers, and anyone else concerned with the safe, equitable, and ethical delivery of health care services.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine, Legal
Editor-in-chief Aaron KesselheimPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 68, Canada 5, United Kingdom 1, Italy 1, Israel 1 (76 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine10.5%
- Ethics in medical practiceHealth Professions8.4%
- Medical Malpractice and Liability IssuesHealth Professions7.3%
- Public Health Policies and EducationHealth Professions7.1%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7%
- Biomedical Ethics and RegulationMedicine6%
- Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric HealthcareMedicine4.8%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Legal | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Legal | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Legal | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.31LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.6LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 84OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,173OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.15OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 62.37%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 90LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,639 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 86 | 67 | 17 |
| 2025 | 149 | 103 | 217 |
| 2024 | 142 | 99 | 200 |
| 2023 | 158 | 107 | 527 |
| 2022 | 139 | 96 | 1,054 |
| 2021 | 97 | 45 | 709 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access articles
All issues FirstView articles Latest issue JLME Spotlight Collections 2025 highlights
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1993
- ISSN
- 1073-1105
- Electronic ISSN
- 1748-720X
- Society / sponsor
- American Society of Law
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS is in Zone 4 of Philosophy, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Ethics / Law / Medical Ethics / Medicine, Legal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.31; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 84.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS?
Authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS based?
Of the 76 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (68), Canada (5) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF LAW MEDICINE & ETHICS is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,550.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .